Railroad track weeding car



- Patented July 2s, 1931 yPA'IEN'I OFFICE A `XAVIER LATTY, on PARIS, FRANCE i RAILROAD TRACK. WERDING CAR Applicaties nied'August 4, i930, serial No. 473,055, and in France .my 24, 1930.

y .The present invention' relatesto the type of' railroad track weeding cars orv trucks comprising a seriesV of rows of pivotally mounted weeders adapted toloosen and weed y5 the ballastor metalyof thetrack or road bed and to ypass yieldingly over the railroad ties v orryy-s'leeperswhilst the car runs o'n the rails. lhefprimary objectfof the invention is to providean improved'weedi-ng car or truck of the 'aforesaid type wherein the Weed'ers are adapted to 'loosen and weedv theballas't of the track right to the sub-grade formation thereof Vwhilst automatically passing over the )tiesu'iithoutdamagingthenmV 4' "fr further object of the invention iste providea weedingcar whereinV the weeders are so `arranged and acted upon rby springs asto readily permit the operator ofl the car' to' detect whether any wooden tie is in goed Condition 'by extracting of the bed of ballast any. portion of tie which may have'become rotten inthe `long'run.`r i y, z i f p A still further yobject of thev invention is to provide a weedingcar whereincertain of the weeders are so disposed as to loosen and weed the ballast'adjacent the flanges or 'feet of the rails whilstautomatically passingoff the tieswithout engaging with the portion of the'rails secured thereto or withthe chairs, 0 screws, spikes, clips or otherV fittings by means of which said rail portions are usually secured to the'ties. n `Still,aiiurtherobject of the inventionr is to provideV weeding lcar' comprising yplow-like delvers A,adapted to loosen and weed the sloping's'ides of the road bed inthe same weedingoperati'on. q "Still another object of the invention is to provide a weeding car comprising, inv combination with the foregoing features, an im proved mechanism whereby an operator can litt orL lower the. whole setfof weeders singlehanded and adjust the working depth ofthe weeders in view of weeding the ballast to the desired extent or depending upon the thickness ot the ballast ormet'aloi' the'Y track. f

` Still f a further objectV of the invention is generally' to facilitate and cheapen the coni@ struction fand operation of the aforesaid type way of example and diagrammatically one practical form that the improved' track weeding car may assume, this drawing being an elevational view partly in section of thecar considered in its entirety, assuming its weeders to be in operating positions.

The weeding car may be power-driven or adapted tobe pushed or towed by a 1ocomotive or coupled toa train.` v

1 designates the frame or chassis of the car of usual girder structure provided at its respective ends with end sills 2 on which are riveted standards 3 of known construction. 11, designate the wheels rotatablycarried in conventional bearings 5, 5 supported by rugged straps 6, 6 riveted to the girders of the frame 1. A footboard 7 is bolted as at 8 to each girderl for a ready access ofthe plat form upon which the operator can stand.l

, Each girder 1 is fitted in the present embodiment of the invention with a pair of longitudinally spaced depending brackets 9, 1-0 to which are respectively bolted or riveted pair of Ufshaped j-oi'sts 11, 12 which are similarly secured to transversely aligned bracketsl (not shown) carried by the girder on the lopposite side ofv the car. Upon the lower leg of the joists` 11, 12 are rigidly Secured lugs 13, 1 3" carrying pivots 14, 14 on which are pivotally supported intermediate their ends rows of two-armed levers 15, 15 to the longer arms of which are pivotallyv supported as at 16, 16 upright Weblike shares 17, 17". l l Each share is itted on a projection of the lower portion of its forward edge with a bifurcated guard 18 or 18 removably se- `cured thereto for example by rivets as at 19,

19 and advantageously made yot a highly hard steel or like material. The purpose of these guards 18, 18 is to take the stress due to the repeated knocks against the ties 'T while the weeding 4car travels on the railsR and weeds the ballast B. The repetition of such knocks merely wears out the guards 18,

18 in the long run without abrading the Yshares 17, 17 and fresh guards may be substituted for the worn out ones when required. Adjacent its lower end each share 17 or 17 is fitted with a transverse knife 26 or 20 extending on both sides thereof and having a sharp fore edge as shown for cutting down the weeds in proportion as the shares make their way through the ballast B and thus loosen it, as will be readily understood.

As above-stated, each shaft 14 orr14 is provided witha row of levers 15 or 15 so that the ballast is loosened by rows of shares 17 or 17 while the weeds are cut down by two rows of knives 2O or 20. The number of such rows might yof* course be larger than two. The shares and knives are inV stag? gered relation fromvone row to another and the shares 17 and knives 20 are so arranged in. pairs inthe'transverse.direction as to loosen and weed the 'ballast e' B adjacent the rails R, as will be describedhereafter.

'T heshorter arm of veach ofthe supporting levers.` 175, 15 is pivotallyv connected'at its freefend as at 21,21 to a lug 22, 22 fitted with an lupstanding-rod 23 loosely engaged through the bored webfof a cross-beam 24.

Eavchirod 23 is screw-threaded at bothends and fitted at its top4 end with a nut 25 rbearing upon a washer 26; Betweenthe washer. 26

yand the top flange of the cross-beam'24 is im-l prisoneda powerful spiral spring 27 Each cross-beam 24 has an upstanding portion 24a to which'i's pivotally connected asiat 28 the lower endof alink 29 pivotally connected by pin r8Oat its upper end to a longitudinally' extending connecting bar 31. Onthe pins 30 arepivotally connected the'adjacent ends of links32 pivoted at `theirsother endson pins 83 iixedon the girder 1 of the car frame. fig-This link structure is ofcourse duplicated from one side ofthe car frame to they other, v the two bars l31 which connect the links 29 goint is coiled a spiral spring 39 having andiy32 pairwise being iixedly united by a cross joist 34 to an intermediate part of which is secured an upstanding rack 35` formed in two portions: the portion 15 adjacentvthe shaft 14 being U-shapedl at its free end-to accommodate the other-portion 15,

aswiveling jointbeing provided for permit-lZ ting a side Ymotion of the said lever portion 15. (Upon theV axis 38 of the swiveling its Vconvolutions extendingA laterally and adapted'to hold the lever portions 15 and 15 in substantial alignment.

Y Qnfthegextremity of the lever portion 15 adjacent the pivotal pin 16 is journalled a roller 40 adapted to co-operate with an outwardly convexed cam surface providedon an upstandingrod 41 of flat shape bolted as at 42 to the girder 1. The cam rod 41 is of vcourse duplicated from one side of the car to the other andthe two cam rods 41 are riveted together asat 43.. f

On a pin 44 fixed uponthe rear joist 11 is connected a rearwardly extending'bar 45 the rear end 46 of which is handle-shaped and provided with a hook 47 for the insertion of the lower hooked extremity of a suspension rod 48 hooked up yat Vits upper extremity to the end sill standard 3. Intermediatelits ends the `bar is attached to the lowerl end of a depending chain 49 attached at itsupper end Vto the free end of a bell crank lever4 50 yfulcrumed at 51 on` a'quadrant-shaped bow 52 secured upon the platform of the car, the upper extremity of the upstanding arm of the bell crank lever 50 being handle-shaped as shown at 53. vThe arcuate portion of the bow A52 ris formed with a number of spaced holes 54 into any one of which can be inserted a pin 55 formed on or secured to the adjacent face of the lower arm of the bell crank lever'50l whereby said lever 'can be held in the required angular position and the height of the *bar* can be similarly adjusted. f Y' A Adjacent the rear end of the bar 45 is secured thereto a depending bar 56 carrying a lower angular bar 57 to which is riveted or similarly secured rigidly .a plow-like kdelver 58 having a pointed fore end59 adapted to dig through the sloping sides ofthe bank of ballast B as the car moves on the rails R in the direction shown by the arrow. The arrangement of the'delvers 48 is of course duplicated from one side of thecar tothe other for permitting the delving action to take place on both sides of thecar, no further description being however required fora proper understanding of the structure.

The operation of this improved track weeding car as above-described may bebriefly described as follows: Y

After the car has been driven to the proper spot wherethe ballast ofthe railroad track requires loosening and weeding, said car is caused to travel on the rails R at the approximate speed of two to three miles an hour. The variouscontrivances carried by the car are then set in operation as follows:

' By turning the hand wheel 37 in the proper direction, the'rack 35 is lifted which raises the cross joist 34 .andlconsequently the connecting bars 31 arrangedfon both sides' of the car. The links 29 are thus also raised while the springs 27 are compressed. This results in lifting of the shorter arms of the weeder-carrying levers and lowering of their longer arms 15 and 15with respect to the stationary shaftsV 14 and '14,', the lifting or f lowering motions` being of course transmitted to all thek rows of weeders. Thus the region of the ballast protruding shares 17, 17

lower ends ofthe shares 17, 17 penetrate intoV the yballast R. It will thus be understood that due to the car travelling along the rails R- the ballast is loosened by thel several shares and as their rows are arranged in staggered relation there is` not a single transverse which escapes their loosening action. At the same time, the knives 20 and 20 travelling through the mass of ballast but sheltered, as it were, by the cut down all weeds, the latter being extirpated of the ballast where they can be raked off or burnt away.

Due to the independent mounting of the v weeders, each weeder works independently of the other weeders depending on the nature of ballast which it meets. As above-stated, the action of the weeders 17 is to weed those parts of the ballast closely adjacent the rails hich was not possible with prior constructions. f

When a share 17 or 17 strikes a tie T by its knocking` guard 18 or 18', its supporting lever rocks about its pivot whereby said share together with its knife gently come out of the ballast B without anyrisk of their being caught whereafter they descend again on the other side of the tie T, in the direction disclosed by the arrow, are again forced into the ballast B by the action of the spring 27 and can thus resume their loosening and weeding work without leaving any portion of the ballast non-loosened or non-weeded.

The impact delivered by each share against a tie T through itsv guard is not normally suiiicient for damaging a tie when in good condition but is nevertheless powerful enough for readily showing that ya wooden tie is rotten by rooting the most rotten portions thereof out of the ballast.

The row of shares 17 has its constitutive shares arranged, as above-stated, pairwise on each side of the respective rails R for the purpose of 'loosening and weeding the ballast closely adjacent thereto and even thereunder, thus rooting out those weeds which with prior constructions of weeding cars for use on railroads, remained alive in the vicinity of the rails. Vhen any share such as 17 hits a tie T by its guard 18', the upward rocking motion of the supporting lever arm 15-15 causes the side roller 40 to roll up along the outwardly convexed cam surface 41 and thus to be diverted outwardly. As a result of this, the lever portion 15 is swiveled oif sidewise to a corresponding extent whereby the share 17 and knife 20 can strike neither the flange nor the head of the rail R, the conveXity of the cam surface 41 being of course so reckoned as to divert the share 17 to a suflicient extent sidewise for preventing any contact between it and the rail.

The operation of the plow-like delvers i said cross beams,

58.4.59 is easy to understand.y As above-stated thepurpose `of these delvers is to loosen and eventually weed thesloping sides of the bank of ballast B. The vertical adjustment of such delvers ca-n be readily carried out from the lever 50, and as the handle 53 thereof is not far from the handv wheel 37, a single operator can operate both members. The lateral adjustment of the delvers is effected byy means ofthe suspension rod 48 permitted by the pivotal connection 44 which may be of a universal nature. j

Numerous minor constructional details might be changed without departing from the spirit of `the invention and the scope of the appended claims.'

That Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A railroad track weeding car comprising, in combination, a girder frame, two pairs of parallelogrammic links pivoted on both sides of the frame and connected by a transverse joist, a rack mechanism having a hand wheel located above the platform of the car for raising' and lowering said transverse j oist, a plurality of cross beams pivotally connected to the lower ends of said links, levers articulated upon said cross beams, compression springs between said cross beams and said levers, shares connected to the ends of said levers remote from their articulations upon the cross beams and having transverse weedf ing knives, removable guards onrthe forward edges of the shares, a roller revolubly mounted on the free end of certain share-carrying levers, an outwardly conveXed cam bar depending from each girder of the frame and co-operating with the adjacent roller, a swivel joint intermediate ythe ends of the sharecarrying lever fitted with a roller, a pair of plow-like delvers located on both sides of the rear portion of the car frame, and vertically and laterally adjustable suspension means for said delvers.

2. A railroad track weeding car comprising, in combination, a girder frame mounted on wheels, two pairs of parallelogrammic links pivoted on both sides of the frame and connected by a transverse joist, a rack mechkanism having a hand wheel located above the platform of the car for raising and lowering said transverse joist, a plurality of cross beams pivotally connected to the lower ends of said links, rows of levers articulated upon compression springs between said cross beams and said levers, upright shares connected to the ends of said levers remote from their articulations upon the cross beams and fitted at their lower ends with transverse weeding knives, removable gua-rds on the forward edges of the shares, a roller revolubly mounted on the free end of certain share-carrying levers located adjacent to the rails and on both sides thereof, an outwardly conveXcd cam bar depending from each girder of the frame and (zo-operating With the adj aoentroller, a swivel spring joint intermediate the endsfof the share-oarrying levers fitted with a roller, a pair of plow-like delvers located on both sides of the rear portion of the car frame, an adjustable bellcrank lever journalled on the platform ofthe oar and having its handle adj aoent the rack oper` ating hand Wheel, means for angularly adjusting the position of said bell crank lever, a f

chain connecting said last-named lever With the corresponding delver, andV means for laterally. adjusting Vthe position of said delvers.. i

In testimony whereof I have signed. myY

name to this'specifieation.

Y Y v Y XAVIER LA'ITY.k 

